


My Name is Riko Kasumi

by Fandomcrasher



Series: I'm Your Biggest Fan [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Original, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), First Impressions, First Meetings, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Original Character(s), Spoilers for all games, You get the idea, fifty years is a long time tho, how do you tag an OC story, idk im just winging it, its an AU in an AU fanclass, its basically two ocs in the DR verse that mentions them sometimes, mind blow, theyre all old by now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-01-24 06:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18565702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandomcrasher/pseuds/Fandomcrasher
Summary: Meet Riko Kasumi, the not-so-lucky star of this universe. He isn't the best looking person, far from it, but he tries his best. The biggest thing about him is his talent, like any student in Hopes Peak, but he believes it's not a real talent. He doesn't think life can get anyworse,  but of course, he forgot to factor in high school. It's only his first day, but he believes that this year will be different.





	My Name is Riko Kasumi

Riko glanced at the clock that hanged on the chipped wallpaper. Its' designs were of a pastel blue with black smudges that were presumed to be birds flying in the vast emptiness. A terrible design for a dining room, but he wasn't focused on his rooms decor at the moment.

All his other senses had clocked out for the day. He wasn't even aware that he was staring at the moving hands, as they slowly moved the three hundred and sixty degrees, slowly ticking towards his death sentence. He wasn't really all that there since this morning, so he supposes he should be grateful that he wasn't panicking about today, but he'll worry about his reaction later when he returned to normal. 

All he could hear at this moment were the ticks the clock provided. His brain thought of nothing as it kept going its slow pace;  _tick._ In his left hand he held a half eaten apple. He had grabbed it from the weaved basket that sat on his wooden table. He ate it, trying to keep his nerves at peace, while also trying to stay somewhat healthy.

It was breakfast time. He normally never ate breakfast. Whether If it was because he had no time in the morning, didn't feel like cooking, or if it was because he generally wasn't a morning person, he didn't know. He spent most of his time working on his hobbies, so he never woke up at good hours of the day like a normal person. _tick._

Well, he would hate himself if he was ever late to a planned event, so he never tried to be late. He planned the start of his day a hour earlier then needed. _tick_. It was better to be prepared then late, right? However, despite this, he only wakes up thirty minutes before he has to leave. This leaves him with enough time to get ready for the day but not enough time for anything else. 

Last night he couldn't force himself to sleep. His nerves were all over the place, causing him to be jittery the longer he did nothing. This also caused his normally active brain to be even more active during the night. _tick_. He started to over analysed todays possibilities, not that he wasn't already doing that, but he ended up thinking more in depth about it. He hadn't slept a wink, which made his brain remember that his worst nightmare will start in just a few moments.

He knew it was a bad idea to watch the clock. As the saying goes; never watch a watch pot boil. He couldn't help it. He hadn't slept for a while, his nerves were fried, and he just wasn't as excited for high school as he should've been.

He had been ready hours ago; His maroon hair brushed, his dark black suit tightly fit his small slender frame, crosses hanged from his ears and around his neck, the purple band on his left leg hung tightly to his leg, and finally his black gloves were carefully worn. Hopes peak had special uniforms for each student, but of course,  his didn't feel right.

He didn't think the outfit felt right because _he_ didn't feel right. His so-called talent wasn't even a real talent. Unlike the ultimate fighter, his simply wasn't a realistic talent. When he received the letter, he felt pride fill his lungs, he didn't know how he got scouted, but he was happy. However, that shattered when he read what he had been assigned with.

How could he even be considered an ultimate? His fellow students will be pissed when they find out that he, a shy emo student, got into the school for free. Most of these students worked their asses off to achieve Hopes Peaks attention! Yet, he didn't do anything but disappoint the police force? Riko wasn't looking forward to when they reveal their talents. He knew that they'll hate him.

Was it wrong for him to believe that the same story will play out? It didn't matter if he moved from different schools; people were still people.  They'll shun him out as the weird kid, bullies will start in, and finally people would be too afraid to approach him. It has happened for as long as he could remember: no one ever gave him the chance to prove himself, so why should he expect anything different about high school?

Hopes Peak might be built to cultivate talent that the students held but it was still a high school at the end of the day. It might be a chance to start over as others have claimed, but those same people have mentioned that high school was the worst time of their life. Riko forced himself to look on the what ifs, that way, if life played out the same way again, he wouldn't be hurt from it.

He jumped when the alarm on his phone went off. His eyes went wide as he quickly looked at the clock. The bus will be at the station any minute now. He knew he was a few minutes away from it so he was going to be late if he didn't hurry. He tried to calmed himself down as he jumped off from the counter. He tossed the apple into the trash, disappointment filled his senses since he hadn't finished it, as he quickly rushed to the bathroom. He needed to triple check his appearance.

Normally he didn't wear makeup, since he was allergic to majority of it, but today was a different story. It was the first day of high school so he at least had to dress nicely. He could deal with his breakout later. The foundation covered his dark circles on one side of his face.  He would've covered both sides, but his anxiety had prevented it, and he knew it'll be quite the sight if someone found out. However, his bangs covered the left part of his face perfectly. It hid the fact that he half-assed his makeup. Which was good, since he definitely did not have time to fix his mistakes.

Knowing that it looked decent, he rushed back into the main room to grab his prepared backpack,  before he rushed out the door.

Surprisingly, he made it in time. 

***

Riko held his breath as he opened the door to his classroom. He looked around at the room before letting his breath out. He was here early, it seemed, since no other student had arrived. He felt at peace knowing that others wouldn't have to stare at him as he entered the classroom. He looked at the seating arrangement with a hint of hesitation. Where did he want to sit? He was the first person here, and with no teacher to tell him there were assigned seats, he got first dibs.

He didn't want to sit in the front. That was asking for people to stare at him constantly, so that left him with the middle and last row. He decided that, if his anxiety was acting up with the just the thought of people looking at him, then it was best to pick the last row. He wondered over before choosing the chair next to the window. He knew that if something were to happen outside, while he was inside, he wouldn't get distracted by it.

With his hobbies, well  _talent_ , he spent a lot of time waiting. With that being said, he had to have a strong sense of focus to do what he needed to do. If it wavered even just a tiny bit, he could lose a lot of information, so he trained himself to focus on multiple things at once. He used to be terrible at multitasking, but after he almost misread an event, that would have caused a lot of problems if he hadn't stopped to think logically, he forced himself to learn how to multitask.

It made his life much more easier. He originally thought that it would only be useful for his talent. However, It helped him trained his mind to be able to do more while keeping the information that he received from it. He could run a mile while doing school work if he wanted. Or maybe not, he actually hasn't tried that, and he doesnt think he will. 

If he can stare at a clock for five hours without realizing it, then he must have great focus, either that or extremely bad anxiety. He should probably see a therapist about that, but he wont, because he can't afford it. They'll ask questions, and with what he does, he really can't afford questions. It's to keep others safe, more so than himself. He doesn't really care about his safety. 

Despite his anxiety about every little thing, Riko has no self-perseverance whatsoever. He learned that about himself a long time ago. He'll do anything to keep others away from harm. If that means he has to do something  _drastic_ , then so be it. He doesn't have a reason to live, probably never will, so he doesn't mind risking himself for others. People can be cruel, he knows that better than anyone else, but they still deserve a chance at life.

It's what started his hob-talent. He grew up believing the lies his family fed him. They're very influential people: they have power in places that even the yukazu aren't aware of. For being a very religious family, that small thing says a lot about them, even more so than actually killing people. It took him a long time to realize that his family were power-hungry assholes who didn't care about life.

He never truly believed in the family's god. Even at a young age it sounded fake to him. He pretended that he did, he saw what happened to the others that didn't believe, and it scared him. He should've picked up that something was wrong, but he was young, and hoped that it was just this small thing. It wasn't, obviously. He had to have a slap in the face from reality to realize it. 

He was ten when they allowed him to attend a school: a real school that wasn't controlled by his family. The elder had felt that the young Kasumi was ready for it. He was truly devoted to their god, so they had nothing to worry about, the next ultimate follower will be born when he saw the awful reality that others provided. Their god was all they needed to survive, he'll learn that when he joins the system, as prophesied from their god!

Of course, Riko had lied, so everything went wrong immediately. He knew that the title ultimate follower was their title and theirs alone: they had kept the title in the family for more than fifty years. It was a generation title, since they were prideful people, they knew that the next first-born will get the title. Just like their father or mother before them. Since Riko was a miracle child, the title will fall on him and him alone.

His mother wasn't supposed to be able to have kids. However, here he was, an unplanned pregnancy later, breathing and a proud follower. Or so they all thought. Anyone can see how pissed off the family was when they found out that the child, the miracle child, broke their more than fifty year long title by being the ultimate that he is.  Karma at its finest, he thought, as he placed his bag next to his chair. He glanced outside as he got lost back in thought. 

When they had let him go to that school, the thing that changed his perspective, he felt so confused. He was lost, why were the  _freaks_ so much different then what he was told? He spent the whole day suffering while he tried to understand. When people talked to him, he felt a spark, he wasn't sure what it was, since he was surrounded by things that were so new to him. He later learned that he was curious about their differences. 

It took him the whole year to learn the truth. To learn that he loved the  _truth._ Their truth. Peoples truth. He was still mad that he had called someone a freak, outloud, to their face. He was sent to the principal, a new experience to him at the time, and felt ashamed. He got left off on a warning, since the principal knew of his family, and how all the Kasumi's were uneducated, as a nice way to put it.

The principal had to teach him that the word freak was an unkind word. Riko was taught that the world freak was a kind word for others that were not apart of his family's religion, the principal knew this, so she knew that she had to correct him. She later told him, after he graduated from elementary school, that she didn't think he would have learned.

"My great grandma was married to a family apart of your family's religion. She escaped from it, taking her knowledge with her, so us descendants wouldn't fall in the same trap. She warned us, that any follower of Odilia, shouldn't be trusted. As you know, the family doesn't let their descendants attend real school until they are for sure that others couldn't influence them. So when you were admitted to my school, i thought for sure, that you would just be like the others." 

Riko wasn't sure what she had meant, so he had asked her to elaborate. After all, it was something he was taught from her to do. Before he had come here, he wasn't allowed to have a personality, have opinions, and that he should  _never_ ask questions. That were the three main rules that every child was forced to learn. It was hard to break those habits, when he learned that it was okay to have these things, but he was glad when he did break it. 

"I'll try to teach you something, but you would just decline it, since you weren't taught that. What would a  _stranger_ know? You'll end up running back to your family once the year ended: it's what i expected. It's what always happens, so i didn't expect much from you. However, you proved me wrong. When you left my room for the first time, you went to apologize to that student, something i didn't advise you to do. You had picked that up from observing others, something i know you didn't understand, but you knew it was the right thing to do."

"I hoped a little that i was wrong. I didn't want to teach you things that were  _normal_ if you were just doing it to please me. Another thing you children are forced to learn." He watched as her lips frowned a little. "When you made mistakes that caused you to be in my office, i watched you frown in confusion, before you tried your hardest to understand."

"I knew you were different. I still wasn't one hundred percent convinced that you weren't just doing this to please me, but i knew then that i should  _try._ Something that my grandmother has taught me is that we should try. Even if it is a follower of Odilia, without trying, how could we know for sure that we hadn't just sent a child away that saw the family as it really was? So i tried, and god am i glad that i did, you're an amazing boy, Riko." Her frown turned upwards at this.

"You learned a lot from me. You have good observation skills, something that i notice even when i taught you at those 'after school tutoring' lessons. I'm still surprised that your family believed that it was actual tutoring.  You must be a good liar when you try." She snorted at this before turning towards him in a serious manner once again.

"I know not to lie." Riko automatically replied to her. "You taught me that. Plus, it feels terrible to lie: i hate liars. It sucks that i was lied to all my life but now ill make my own path! No more god stuff! Although, just Odilia. I think greek mythology is pretty cool, and i think that, that i wouldn't mind learning about others beliefs. Like christianity? It's peoples truths, so i wouldn't mind learning it!" He had watched her smile more, perhaps in pride, he wasn't really sure. 

"You're such a good boy, Riko. Any other person would have given up with people when they learned the truth you have. I can see that you believe in people, even with their faults, i can see that you treat it as their truth. A good quality to have. A great quality, in fact. I would have never imagined that you would grow this far. I'm sad that you won't be in my school anymore, but you need to grow  on your own, so i'm glad you're taking this step."

She faced towards him before giving him one last hug. "Life will be unfair to you. However, i'm just one call away. If you ever need someone to talk to, or anything of the sorts, i'll be here for you. Never forget that, okay?" He had told her that he wouldn't.

Even now he hasn't forgotten. He didn't know it at the time, but she felt like a mother to him, a real mother. He was sure, that even she, felt like she had gained a son. He hadn't contacted her since then. He felt a little bad, but he had grown, just as she wanted, and he was afraid. He was afraid that he'll lose the mother figure he had gained if she knew of his talent. His talent, one that wasn't related to his family, but something that showed who he was.

Observation was in his talents name. His talent wasn't that great of a thing, but the school recognized it as one, which he was still confused about. What used to be a bad habit, turned into a hobby, was now his talent? It felt like the school was just laughing at him. Sure, he used a lot of different methods to do what he did, the perfect definition of a talent, but they were still bad. 

People had made fun of him for it. He supposes any other person would pride themselves for that.  _I got into the best school of our country for something you made fun of. Take that losers!_ He wasn't like most people, however. He recognize his talent as a bad thing. He wasn't just putting himself down: people went to jail for this type of thing on the daily. 

Of course, he was still putting himself down. It didn't matter that it was considered illegal: if someone can be the son of a well known yakuza while still being allowed to attend this school, then surely his talent was  _fine._ Hell, his talent was way calmer than being an assassin, so he wasn't really sure why he felt the need to hate it as much as he did. 

It wasn't in his nature to sell anything that he knew to the blackmarket. He hated money hungry people more than anything. He wanted to gain things with honest work, unlike his family, to make it in this world. He pride himself with what he learned, he wouldn't do anything to hurt the people he learned the information from, unlike most people who did what he did.

He supposed that is why they considered it a talent. He had gotten in trouble with the police force: not because he did anything illegal, but because he could hurt himself with what he did. He wouldn't have gotten caught if he had saw that it was fake. He was still learning about people's behaviours, so he hadn't caught it at the time, but now that he knew, he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

"Are you even listening?" Riko snapped up from his thoughts by a new voice. He hadn't notice when the other boy had appeared: or the other students for that matter. He really needed to work on that, but right now he was trying not to panic: he'll have to remember that he needed to use what he learned on the job off the job, too. How long had he tried to get his attention? Was he mad? Oh god what if he was mad?

"Are you okay? You look a little pale." The other boy commented. He had dark hair to match his brown eyes. His outfit was plain looking, not very talent worthy, but he supposed it might be because of his talent. He notice the small designs that were in his suit: scripts, rolls of paper, birds, and a pen. They were barely noticeable, making the user stand out more. He started to get a clear idea of who this was. He just needed a name. 

He realized that he should probably answer the other. He had already spent enough of his time by not paying attention to his surroundings. He tried speaking, but notice that he was too quiet for the other to hear him, so he cleared his throat. "I'm always pale!"

Riko wanted nothing more than to bang his head on the table. He knew he wasn't good with people, but this was a little too ridiculous, damn social awkwardness. "I mean-" "That was extremely honest." he interrupted him with a chuckle. He chose to sit next to him, setting down his belongings, before turning to face Riko.

Riko wasn't sure why the other was still talking to him. He only said three words, but that was enough to drive anyone away. "You looked like you weren't paying much attention when I arrived. I thought that was the case, and i wanted to test my theory, so i said random things. Out of context it would have made anyone look at me questionably but you were too busy looking outside." 

"I didn't mean to be rude." Riko replied shyly. It was the honest truth. He had gotten so caught up with his past and talent, that he had forgotten that school would be starting soon, but at least the kind boy had spoken to him. He knew that people can be deceiving, so until the boy showed that he wasn't kind, Riko would labeled him as such. "I know. " Riko wasn't sure why he knew but he supposes that he'll get an answer soon.

"I'm Takehito Yamasaki. You?" Riko looked at him with a small smile. Unbeknownst to him, he had put his hands in a small prayer as they sat below his chin. His head was slightly tilted as he started word vomiting. "You're the Ultimate Actor! Your mother was also an actress but she didn't get very far. I hear that it's very hard in that industry! Is she proud of you? Wait, that might be too personal..." Riko realized his mistake and added a quiet "i think."

Takehito looked a little troubled. Riko shouldn't have said what he did, but he couldn't help himself. He had gathered from his outfit that he might be the actor in his class, but he shouldn't have revealed that he knew what he did. So much for making a friend, Riko thought, as he slammed his head on his desk. For earlier. 

"How did you know? I thought the school kept that information quiet." Takehito mumbled. They did keep the information quiet, Riko just got into it. He shouldn't say that out loud, he would be questioned. He hates questions. He knows that the teacher will introduce them all later, so he'll say then.

"I have my sources." Riko replied with a straight face. He saw the question forming on Takehitos' mind, but he wasn't able to ask, since the teacher came in at that moment. Riko was never more thankful for an opportunity like this. 

***

It was now his turn to introduce himself. The teacher wanted them to state their name, their talent, and how they think they got it. It was simple enough. Ever since the school rebuilt itself from the past killing game disasters, they kept that information in their database. They should've done that from the start, but Riko knew the school was still learning, and they wanted to just show just how smart their students were.

Riko had feared this even before he had gotten ready for the school year. He's not ready to be treated as the outsider. He wanted life to be different for him at least once. He feared this, yet he knew he had to do it, so here he stood at the front of the room staring at the floor. He had been here for quite a long time. It didn't help that he was shy, too. The teacher had patiently waited the first time, before sitting him down for another student to introduce themselves.

He was grateful for that. It gave him more time to psych himself up to speak in front of others. He wasn't ready to admit to others, and himself, that this was his talent. This was the talent he was admitted to the school for. He still felt that he had gotten here for free, he never truly deserved to be here, unlike Takehito. He spent a lot of time, not really meaning to get this far, with something he was passionate about. His mother was a big inspiration to him for it. 

Riko felt the teachers patience waver. They didn't have all day for this, Riko knew this, but he couldn't muster up the courage. "Riko, I know that this is hard for you, but i gave you enough time to prepare. You're the last one to introduce yourself. We have to hurry: the welcome ceremony will start soon." He said, trying to encourage Riko.

It only made him more nervous. He was now taking up everybody's time. He should just word vomit like he did with Takehito: but he knew he couldn't. He hadn't realized it, but he felt calmer when he was talking to the boy. He supposes that it was just because the other put up an act. He wasn't lying, but he was drawing inspiration from a character he had played, so he was acting.

His chill yet brave nature was an act. He was just as nervous as Riko was, he can tell that now, with the way he acted when it was his turn to speak. When he spoke to Riko, he had the feeling that he reminded the other of a character he had played. He must have proved that to him when he had blurted out that he was always pale. He still felt slightly silly for that, but what was done was done, he just had to move on.

Takehito wasn't a liar. He probably was just a chill person. He just needed extra help from his characters that he played. It was a new change in setting: nobody knew what to do. Even Riko could tell the most outgoing people were nervous. Who wouldn't be? He's pretty sure that if he didn't talked to Takehito, he probably would've had a panic attack by now, but the other gave him some sort of courage. 

He found that when he was nervous, thinking about peoples actions and behaviours calmed him down. He didn't know why, but he supposes it was just distraction. It wasn't healthy, not at all, but it helped him out. "Uh-" He cleared his throat once again and spoke louder. "I'm Riko Kasumi. I'm the Ultimate Stalker."

He bit his nails as he looked back at the floor. He could just feel the stares of the others. It made them uncomfortable, like it should, his talent was fake, after all. He heard the teacher sigh as he walked over to Riko. He placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to keep him from running back to his seat. "Riko, That's not your talent. Tell us your  _actual_ talent and why you got it. Try again, please." 

He probably should have guess that the teacher was informed of their talents. Whatever, he tried his best to be hated, he just couldn't get it right. "Well it's what it should be called." he grumbled as he looked back at the class. Here went nothing, he supposes.

"My name is Riko Kasumi! My title is the Ultimate Fan. It's a pleasure to meet you all." He bowed his head in manners before standing back up. "I got my talent from helping out cases that i should've kept my nose out of. Most of my work comes from abuse cases. As suggested by my title, i know more than i should. Like a fan, i do questionable things to know all about my 'idol.'" He looked back up and focused on the back wall. 

"I follow people that i suspect are victims of abuse or others that i generally find interesting. The media started calling me Percy. I was an anonymous helper for majority of the abuse cases for the last five years, so the name fits, i suppose. The police wanted to catch me in the act, so they set up a fake abuse case. You can imagine the amount of scolding i got." he laughed, slightly, as he finally looked at his classmates. "They were supposed to keep it a secret, since im underage, but i guess the school has access to records, or something. I'm really not sure how i got scouted or gain the title. I really shouldn't have." 

Riko than started heading back to his seat. The teacher had let go of him the second he started talking. A girl, Aya Omisha, if he remembered her name correctly, spoke up. "Holy crap, man! That's awesome. I think you deserve your talent like the rest of us. It's a little creepy, but i don't get any bad vibes from you. I know we just introduced ourselves, but, i don't think the name of your talent should be stalker. You're far from it, actually. Until you prove me wrong i won't change my mind!"

The others quietly agreed with her. It wasn't what he expected, but at least he knew that the others would give him a chance. He would've cried, but he had some dignity left. Takehito looked at him oddly before he smiled. "So... Did you break into the school to figure out my talent or..?"

Riko looked back at him before smiling wider. "Oh you know how it is." He answered simply as he grabbed his bag. He didn't know why, but he felt that he and Takehito will end up being very close.  Only time could tell.

_My name is Riko Kasumi. My life wasn't, isn't, and never will be perfect. All i ever needed was a chance and i was given one. I could never be any more grateful._

 


End file.
